Sickle for Your Thoughts
by penslinger
Summary: When Harry returns for his sixth year, he finds that boundaries are shifting, and not everyone is who he thought. While the wizarding world is under the illusion that his brother is the BWL, Harry realizes that he may have the power to save the world.


**Sickle for Your Thoughts**

Chapter One

_The Opening Feast_

* * *

_"The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy" _**— Alfred North Whitehead**, English philosopher and mathematician.

* * *

**A** scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform full of people. Children were clambering onto the cars, while some were already hanging out the windows and waving goodbye to their parents. Owls were hooting to each other over the babble in a slightly disgruntled manner. People were fighting over carriages, laughing, joking, and reminiscing.

And yet, there was an air of apprehensiveness.

Aurors had taken residence in Hogwarts, but it did nothing to allay the fear that everyone felt. Anxiousness moved off of people like waves on a unknown beach. Parents were looking over their shoulders; people were staying in larger groups; and everyone's luggage had to go through a dark artifact check. It was these few changes that made the fact that Voldemort was on the ascension much more palpable.

Still, life went on. Students went back to Hogwarts, acceptance letters went out, wands were bought, and trains were filled with students. The hazards hung onto them like a fog— there, but easily ignored.

And so feeling of apprehensiveness, fear, and trepidation were pushed back in light of the new school year. There was one aberration, however, one anomaly among the throngs of exited students.

Two boys sat in the carriage in the very back of the train. It was the only one not being fought over. Since the two people who resided there weren't dubbed the Ice Princes of Slytherin for nothing. Known for their acerbic dispositions, they weren't the people sought after for pleasant conversation.

Draco Malfoy. Privileged, spoiled, arrogant, libertine, _whore _were a few words used to describe him. Having bedded half the population at Hogwarts—boys and girls—gave him quite the bad reputation. He did have standards, however, and had only slept with Slytherins and Ravenclaws—no Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs under any circumstances.

Harry Potter. Wayward son, brother of the Boy-Who-Lived, Potion teacher's nightmare, DADA teachers' dream were a few words that people associated with Harry Potter. And, after ditching his coke-bottle spectacles in third year, he was also a popular gossip topic for the female wizarding population.

Both were very powerful, smart, dangerous when provoked, and adept Slytherins. Draco was from a influential pureblood family, and was expected to be in Slytherin, while Harry Potter, who was from a notoriously light family, was more of a surprise.

Expected to be a Gryffindor (or at least a Hufflepuff), Harry Potter's sorting was one of the most surprising of them all, no one clapped, no one spoke, and the Great Hall had been filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing. That was, until, Draco Malfoy started clapping, and the rest of the first year Slytherins started applauding until the whole school was cheering (albeit reluctantly).

And that was how Harry and Draco's friendship began. They were like ying-yang, appearance and personality wise. Harry had dark hair; while Draco had blond, almost white hair. Draco had grey eyes; while Harry had green. Draco was loud when angry; Harry's voice was dangerously quiet. Harry detested Potions; while Draco excelled in it. Draco was loud and dramatic; while Harry wasn't quite as loud and witty. They were complete opposites, and yet there friendship was unavoidable. Always paired up for duels, Harry's strengths cancelled out Draco's weaknesses. And, in turn, Harry's faults were covered by Draco's strong points.

They knew each other like the back of their own hand. Harry knew Draco's biggest fear was becoming a Death Eater. And Draco knew Harry cringed at the thought of being anything like his brother, Daniel Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who was arrogant, bigoted, and cruel. Both of them were trying to escape their family's legacies, Harry wanted to step out of Daniel's shadow, and Draco wanted to escape his Dark heritage.

"So, Draco, have a good summer?" Harry asked when they claimed their compartment.

"No," complained Draco, "It was bloody horrible. Father allowed _every single _Death Eater that there ever was to stay at Malfoy Manor. Everyone kept on asking when I was to join the Dark Lord's ranks. It was terrible."

"Yeah, but I'd wager there was a lot of hot purebloods you could've bedded, yeah?" Harry smiled wryly.

"I wish." griped Draco, "But all of the pureblood families are related one way or another, and I'm not fond of inbreeding."

Harry chuckled, "What about Parkinson? You had no trouble shagging her last year, and she's like you third cousin, right?"

"Second cousin," he corrected, "And, no, I never plan on touching that hag with a _ten foot pole_. She was a terrible lay."

"Oh, that sucks."

"I know."

"How about Zabini?" tried Harry.

"Were you not listening? I. Am. _Related. _To. Him. I think my great, great, great grandfather married Violetta Zabini sometime in the 1860's. All purebloods are tied together somehow. In fact, I'm pretty sure I got some Potter blood in these veins."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Draco, thinking, "I'm 90% sure that were in some way related, if only very distantly."

"That's pretty cool." said Harry absently, already pulling out a large volume on Hexes and Jinxes.

"Yeah," agreed Draco, "But inbreeding has such nasty side effects. I had a cousin born with three arms, y'know; they had to amputate the third magically. But, our blood is as pure as freshly fallen snow, and we haven't had a squib in a century, so I guess that's all that matters to the Malfoys."

"Well," said Harry, turning a page in his book, "Malfoys aren't completely pure, unless the snow likes to bottom." A wry smile.

Draco bristled. "I meant blood purity, you prat. My father doesn't really care about that kind of stuff, anyways."

"But Narcissa does."

"Yes, well, she couldn't have expected me to be a virgin forever. I'm too pretty and jacking off in the shower wasn't going to cut it forever."

"S'not so bad." countered Harry.

Draco's eyes widened. "Please, please, please tell me you're not a bloody _virgin_. You're not, right?"

Harry turned to another page, "Maybe."

"Oh no," groaned Draco dramatically, "Draco Malfoy, best friends with a _virgin. _My playboy reputation is _ruined!_"

"Oh, sod off, you great prick. There's not exactly great pickings at Potter Manor. Unless I want to shag some giggly Hufflepuff, or, Merlin forbid, a _Gryffindor_."

This seemed to pacify Draco. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I heard your brother was dating the Weaselette—at least you have good taste."

"She only likes him because he's the Boy-Who-Lived. I bet you ten galleons that after a month of dating she'll figure out he's an arrogant prat and dump him." Draco snorted his agreement.

"Hey, look at this." Harry said to Draco, passing him the book. He pointed to the description for the _Backfiring Jinx_. "We could use this next time my _good ol' brother_tries to hex us."

"Yeah," agreed Draco, "'Cause Blaise wouldn't talk to me for weeks after I used him as a human shield when your brother tried to use the antler hex on me."

Harry snorted, "Those antlers did stay on for quite a while. But, he got to miss Snape's quiz. Lucky bloke—he should've thanked you. I would've."

"That's just because you're horrible at Potions. And Blaise had to make it up anyways."  
"It's not my fault I'm bad. If Snape didn't hover over me like a overgrown bat then _maybe_I could do something right."

"No I think you're just bad at Potions." replied Draco.

"Shut up, prat." grumbled Harry, stuffing his nose back into the book.

"What classes are you taking this year?' asked Draco a few minutes later.

"Umm, Defense Against the Dark Arts—"

"Obviously." Draco interjected. Harry glared.

"—ahem, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Potions—"

"_Potions_?" Draco repeated, "Seriously?'

"Yes, _seriously_." Harry deadpanned, "I did manage to scrape a Exceeds Expectations on my O.W.L. Surprisingly."  
"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh. _You prat. Anyways, I'm also taking Herbology and Muggle Studies."

"I wanted to take Muggle Studies." said Draco, "But, Father said no son of his would waste time learning about Muggles and their filthy inventions. So, I'm stuck with Divination. But, other than that our schedules should be pretty similar."

"So you're going to be stuck with Professor Trelawney all year. I pity you." said Harry sympathetically.

"Well, Snape's going to torture you during Potions. Since he only has one Potter to terrorize, you're going to get the bulk of his anger. So, I pity _you_."

Harry groaned, "Right now, I pity myself more than anybody. Your godfathers a right foul git."

"Not as bad as yours, though. Your godfathers that Sirius bloke, right?"

"Don't remind me." Harry dramatically covered his face with his hand. "Bunch of Gryffindors, the lot of them. Think I'm going to go on a rampage and start shooting Unforgivables at Muggles just because I'm a Slytherin."

"Prejudiced gits." Draco said offhandedly.

"And do you know what's even worse?"

"What?" "Aurors are going to be at Hogwarts all year, y'know, for protection. And guess who's coming. Just _guess_."

"_No_." said Draco, horrified.

"_Yes. _My father's and Sirius' team are one of the Aurors assigned to guard Hogwarts."

"That fucking _sucks_." said Draco empathetically. "I'm guessing that there not going to keep their eyes off of you and disregard everything your brother does."

"Pretty much, yeah. I'd bet that Daniel could hex me right in front of their noses and they would pretend to not see it."

"Gits." repeated Draco.

"I know."

"We could try and get that Invisibility Cloak that Filch nicked off your brother in fourth year. Then we wouldn't have to worry about them watching us. " suggested Draco.

"To get into Filch's office we'd need to already have an Invisibility Cloak." said Harry. "And even that's gonna be guarded with Aurors, at least until Voldemort's gone. And since Daniels the only one who can stop him, that's going to be a long time coming. So I wouldn't hold your breath."

Draco sighed. "Y'know the one good thing about my Father expecting me to become a Death Eater is that I don't picture myself in Charm class next year."

Harry snorted and smiled faintly, "Hogwarts, what a pathetic excuse for a school. There are dark forces festering inside its walls and either the headmasters to daft to see it or he just doesn't care. It's not the safe haven it once was, right?"

"You know, Harry," said Draco sadly, "I don't think this place was ever safe."

"I think you might be right." agreed Harry.

"I wish I wasn't," confided Draco, "I wish Hogwarts was the way everyone pictures it; a unreachable point, a safe place, a sanctuary."

Harry straightened up in his seat, "Even if it was, it wouldn't be like that for us. Think about it, Draco. We're Slytherins. Everyone thinks us to be dark wizards; we wouldn't be welcomed with open arms."

"I know." said Draco quietly, turning so he could see the scenery rushing past out the window. "I know."

Harry sighed.

About a half an hour later, Harry was still reading his book and Draco had continued to look through the window. There was a rap on the door and the trolley lady stepped in,

"Anything from the trolley, dears? Although, I wouldn't advise buying anything now," she mused, "we'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon."

"That's okay," said Harry "I'll eat during the Opening Feast."

"Right, then. What about you, dearie? Anything from the trolley?" she asked, gesturing to Draco, who was still looking out the window.

"No, I'll eat later." he said vaguely.

"Alright, you two should put on your robes, I expect we'll be arriving soon."

^.^

About an hour later, they did arrive. It took another thirty minutes for everyone to be unloaded from the train. It went from front to back, so by the time Draco and Harry got off they were last in line to have their bag checked. The line moved at a snail's pace, and it seemed like a year had passed when they finally got to the front of the line. The Auror who was checking the bags Harry recognized as Albert Runcorn, one of the lower rank Aurors in his father's department.

"Draco _Malfoy," _he smiled nastily when he recognized the last name, "Your family being the filthy Death Eater scum they are; I'd bet this suit case is filled with dark artifacts."  
Draco bristled, but he kept his tone neutral. "I can assure you, sir, that there is nothing of that nature in my suitcase."

"I'm sorry I can't take your word for it." Runcorn said, not looking very sorry at all.  
Draco's jaw clenched. Runcorn waved his wand over the suitcase and muttered and unintelligible incantation. The trunk glowed dark blue.

"That means something's in there that's not supposed to be in there." Runcorn said giddily, "_Alohomara!"_

The top swung open automatically, and a cane, almost identical to the one Lucius Malfoy had, was glowing blue. Runcorn levitated it. "What's this?"

"It's a walking stick." Draco ground out, fists clenching and unclenching.

Runcorn surveyed Draco. "You don't look like you have a limp."

"I don't—it was a gift, from my father."

"Ah, your _father_. Must be dark then. _Bombarda!" _A small explosion resounded through the air, and the cane was splintered into sawdust.

"You're not allowed to do that," protested Harry, "It's supposed to go into that pile over there." He gestured to a pile of Fanged Frisbees and other banned items. "Just because your wife died doesn't mean-"

But Harry didn't get to finish whatever he was going to say, because Runcorn's fist shot out so quickly that in was an undistinguishable blur, and collided with Harry's face, effectively breaking his nose.

He staggered slightly but managed to regain his balance. "I will pretend," he said, "that what you just did was simply a slip of control. You should be grateful, because if I told anyone what happened, you'd lose you position."

Draco nodded in affirmative, and Harry put his and Draco's luggage onto the cart going to Hogwarts.

"No wonder James doesn't mention you at work," Runcorn spat at Harry as they left. "You're a bloody _dark wizard_, and you shouldn't be allowed the surname Potter!"

Harry and Draco ignored him and they began towards the school grounds where the horseless carriages would be waiting.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, looking at Harry's nose, which was bleeding profusely.

"That looks broken."

"It's fine." Harry said, waving him off. "Just a little dent, besides, I'll go see the medi-witch after the feast. Now hurry up, you, I don't want to miss the carriages."

"I think it's a bit late to make the carriages, this place is practically deserted."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I'm sorry about your cane." he said.

"I'm sorry about your face." replied Draco, laughing. Harry glared at him, rubbing away a little trickle of blood that was running down his face and onto his chin.

"Thanks for caring," Harry said sarcastically.

"You just better hope it's not broken. I won't be friends with a virgin who also has a crooked nose." quipped Draco.

"Oh, har, har." laughed Harry, "You're _so_hilarious."

"I try." said Draco, "Now hurry up, Harry, you don't want your nose stuck luck that, do you?"

"I don't know. I think it gives me more of a devil-may-care look, what do you think?"

"I think that you should hurry up. Because, I'm _starving. _The house elves at Malfoy Manor made fruit salad for breakfast. It was good; don't get me wrong, but not very filling."

"Alright, alright." relented Harry, wiping more blood of his chin. "If you're so hungry then why don't you go a little faster, eh, Princess? Preferably before I lose another pint of blood."

"Fine." said Draco, his stomach growling audibly. "But, don't call me Princess."

"Deal, now, come on—don't meander; walk!"

"Fine, _Mum_."

"Stop talking and start walking, I'm starting to feel a little faint. And, look it, I can see the gates, right up there." said Harry pointing to the wrought iron gate not to far away. About a minute later, they finally made it.

They met Warwick Davis, the Defense Against the Dark Art's professor, and Harry's favorite teacher, at the front gates. "Hello, Professor Davis, sorry were late." apologized Harry.

"Its okay, the Sorting is only halfway over, anyways." said the Professor, marking off their names on the clipboard. "By the way, Mr. Potter, what in Merlin's name happened to you nose?"

"Nothing." Harry lied, "I, um, fell."

"Alright, you all can go on in. Just try not to disrupt the Sorting."

Harry and Draco nodded, and proceeded to make their way into the Great Hall. Two unfamiliar guards stood outside, they allowed them in, just as a boy by the name of Jason Mooney was being sorted into Hufflepuff. Everyone's eyes turned to them. He could see his father and Sirius standing towards the back, and Harry could hear Daniel's laughter, "Nice face, Harry!" he called, cackling.

Harry sneered at him the best he could with a broken nose, and he and Draco made their way to the Slytherin table. They sat across from Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, and next to Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass.

"What did we miss?" Draco asked.

"Nothing much," Theo said offhandedly, "That kid-the one with black hair-towards the end, got sorted into Slytherin a few minutes ago. Something, Jessup, I don't really remember. And the Sorting Hat told us to stay strong in these 'troubled times'."

"Easy for it to say," added Blaise, "It's a hat, isn't it?"

Daphne snorted into her goblet, just as Mayall, Richardson was sorted into Gryffindor.

"How many more first years you think there are?" asked Draco, "I'm starving."

"Me too." added Theo, "Forgot to grab breakfast this morning."

"Well," said Harry, voice slightly indecipherable because of his injury, "They just sorted some kid with the last name Nelson. So we're on the Ns; shouldn't be too much longer."

"What did you say, mate?" Theo asked, smiling. "I can't even begin to make out what you're saying."

"Me neither." agreed Daphne, "You want me to fix it for you, Harry? I'm not the best at healing charms, but I'm better then these four. Plus you don't want it to set like that, your nose will be crooked."

Draco snickered when she said this.

"You should let her try." said Pansy, "Even if she messes it up, you can have it fixed by Pomfrey later. Besides, she's training to become a healer, so she's you best bet right now."

"Alrig-" started Harry.

"Who says I'm going to mess it up." argued Daphne. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry, go on."

"Alright," Harry repeated, "Give it a go."

Daphne brandished her wand, _"Episkey."_

Harry made a low grunt-like sound when the spell was cast, if felt like somebody had clobbered him from the other side. But, the pain was slowly retreating, and the blood had stopped flowing.

"Thanks." he gasped, "how do I look?"

"One sec," said Daphne, "Let me get rid of the blood— _Scourgify!— _there we go. You look good as new."

Harry smiled. "Good."

"So," said Theo, "How did you get that lovely shiner anyway?"

"Um, wait one minute. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone." said Harry, "But, you all are an exception. _Muffliato. _Alright, now I can tell you. I got jumped by the guard at the baggage check, Runcorn."

"Isn't he a bit old?" asked Blaise, "How'd he get a good punch like that, oh King of Defense."

"I told you not to call me that." reprimanded Harry, "Just because I got an O on the O.W.L's doesn't mean I'm Davis' best student."

"Yes, it does." argued Daphne, "Professor Davis' is a nice guy and all; I remember he tutored me on the Patronus Charm in fifth year, but he's _tough_. You were the only who scored above Exceeds Expectations."

"And you barley got into Professor Snape's N.E.W.T class, go figure." Draco muttered.

"Oh, be quiet, you." said Pansy, "Just because we only got an Exceeds Expectations on the Defense O.W.L, doesn't mean we have to be so sensitive."

"I'm not sensitive!"

Meanwhile, "You got into Snape's class?" Theo asked Harry, "How'd you manage that? "Yeah," asked Blaise, "No offence, mate, but your bollocks at Potions."

"None taken." replied Harry. "Draco helped me out actually, and he was my partner for the experiment part of the lesson. But, the written essay took a lot of studying."

"Oh!" said Theo, "So that's why you to were always disappearing during fifth year. You were studying."

"Yeah." said Harry, his brow furrowed. "What did you think we were doing?"

"We thought you two were shagging in the broom closet or something." admitted Theo.

Harry's face flushed. "Ew, you pervert!"

"Sorry, but you wanted to know."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be that!" exclaimed Harry.

"Hey, Harry!" said Pansy, "You never did tell us how Runcorn broke your nose."

All eyes in there small group turned to Harry.

"Well," started Harry, "We were in the line for baggage check, yeah? And then, finally, we make it to the front, and Draco's bags get checked. So Runcorn starts making snubs about Draco's family, since their dark wizards— sorry, mate, but it's true— and then he decides that Draco's father's cane is a dark artifact, and he _Bombardo's _it."

"He can't do that," cried Pansy, "He was supposed to give all the items to Filch so the students could get them back at the end of the year."

"I know," said Harry, "So I said what you just said, 'You can't do that!', and then I say, 'just because your wife died doesn't mean you can act like a prick. Or, I was going to say that, but he punched me after I mentioned his wife."

"Ouch," Theo said empathetically, "It looked like it hurt, too. How can pack such a hard punch? He's like, what, forty-two, right?"

"About that." agreed Harry "Must've been an adrenaline rush. He really loved his wife. I felt kind of bad after I said it, too."

"But, not bad enough to take it back, right?" Blaise smirked.

"Well, yeah, I mean, he _punched _me." said Harry, grinning, "But, I'm not going to rat him out either, he could lose his job. And he's got three kids."

"I would've told on him if he punched _me." _muttered Draco.

"Well," Daphne said, smiling at Harry, "I think it was nice of Harry to do that."

"Oh yeah, Harry's the nicest guy on the planet. _That's _why he's in Slytherin. Because were _so _nice." snarked Theo.

"Isn't Harry _nice_, Theo. Oh, Harry, you're so _nice_. That was such a _nice _thing to do, Harry." mocked Draco, using a shrill and girlish voice that definitely wasn't his own. "This is why you're still a virgin, mate. Because you're too nice; girls—or guys, for that matter—don't want to shag nice blokes."

"Shut up, Draco." Harry said, even though he couldn't help but grin.

"You don't know the first thing about girls, anyway," countered Pansy, "So how can you know what we want?.

Draco continued to say that when he bedded Pansy, he knew exactly what she wanted, because she told him, loudly, and in great detail. Draco proceeded to recount everything she said, word for word. Pansy seemed thankful that Harry had put up a muffling charm earlier.

"So you're really a virgin, Harry?" asked Theo, eyebrows waggling spasmodically. He looked so inexplicably creepy that Harry couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling in his throat.

"Yeah, actually." said Harry, "At least you know that Draco and I weren't shagging in the broom closet like you thought."

Theo laughed, and Draco cut off from whatever he was saying to look at Harry appraisingly and say: "No way that'll happen. I don't _do_ virgins."

"What a relief." muttered Harry almost silently, Daphne seemed to hear him, because she laughed out loud but quickly covered her guffaws with her hand.

Draco made a moaning sound that was supposed to imitate Pansy, but he stopped when a newly-sorted Slytherin first year looked at him strangely. "What are you looking at?" he muttered into his empty goblet.

"I think the Muffling Charms wearing off." said Blaise unnecessarily, "And just in time too, looks like there's only a few more first years left."

This was true, once "Webb, Bronson" scurried off of the stool to go to Ravenclaw, there was only one more first year, named "Zeller, Rose", was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Thank, Merlin," said Draco, "I thought I was going to die of starvation."

"Not just yet, though. Dumbledore has to make his speech first." said Harry.

Draco groaned, defeated.

Dumbledore stepped up to the podium. "Hello, Hogwarts students," he greeted jovially, "I will make this quick, since I can see you all are more than ready to enjoy our delectable feast. First, as you may have already noticed, we have some Aurors staying with us for this term, they are here to protect you, so I want you to give them a hearty welcome."

The students clapped politely, while Draco muttered "Well, who's gonna protects us from _them_?_"_

"Thank you, thank you." said Dumbledore, and the applause died almost immediately, "And now, I must inform you of bleaker information. As most of you are well aware, we are currently in a violent war with Lord Voldemort. As such, I must advise you all to be on your guard, stay alert, and be safe. These are trying times, so try not to dwell on the present and look to the future, look for a happy one, and that dream might just become reality. And, remember, without dark there can be no light. And now, please enjoy our feast."

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well that was…_pleasant_."


End file.
